Abstract
Physicians working in Saudi Arabia belong to different countries and may have differences in knowledge and attitude towards psychiatry. We evaluated non-psychiatric physician's knowledge and attitude towards psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. The current knowledge and attitude towards anxiety and depression of physicians were determined by using a questionnaire. We distributed 180 study questionnaires at various hospitals to be answered by physicians in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia. One hundred and forty-two completed questionnaires were included in the study. The participants were divided into three groups: (1) 63(44.4%) general practitioners (GPs), (2) 55 (38.7%) specialists and (3) 24 (16.9%) family practitioners. Data were analysed using the chi-square, ANOVA and independent sample t-test. GPs and specialists showed a negative attitude towards psychiatric patients, but family practitioners showed a positive attitude. There were statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in the knowledge regarding anxiety and depression among the groups. The relationship between specialty and knowledge was statistically significant (p<0.05) and the effect of first language is insignificant (p>0.05). Expansive enlightenment programmes, continued medical education and inclusion of psychiatric posting in rotating residential internship programme during undergraduate courses are required for physicians not only to fill the gap in knowledge and attitude but also to improve their cognitive, communication and interpersonal skills.
Highlights
In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is the major government agency entrusted with providing preventive, curative and rehabilitative healthcare for the population of Saudi Arabia
The general practitioners (GPs) group consisted of 63 participants, the specialist group consisted of 55 participants, and the family practitioner group consisted of 24 participants
The participants were divided into three groups: the GPs group consisted of 63 participants, the specialist group consisted of 55 participants and the family practitioner group consisted of 24 participants
Summary
In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is the major government agency entrusted with providing preventive, curative and rehabilitative healthcare for the population of Saudi Arabia. In the year 2012, physicians in MOH hospitals included 3201 General Practitioners (GP’s), 2079 Internal Medicine, 399 Urology, 217 Chest diseases, 313 Skin and Venereology, 1083 Anesthesia, 2466 Pediatrics, 5075 Psychiatry and 766 Family Medicine experts. There are 435 PHC centres in the study area of Riyadh province with an estimated population of 7739570 [2]. Physicians working in Saudi Arabia belong to different countries and may have differences in knowledge and attitude towards psychiatry. We evaluated non-psychiatric physician’s knowledge and attitude towards psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The current knowledge and attitude towards anxiety and depression of physicians were determined by using a questionnaire. We distributed 180 study questionnaires at various hospitals to be answered by physicians in the Riyadh Province of Saudi Arabia.
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